Three cheers to promotions and V-Day

To Regis Obijiski, the outgoing director of New Horizons Resources, a disability agency based in the Hudson Valley that operates 25 group homes and an 80-acre farm. Obijiski, a former Franciscan priest, has, after 26 years at the helm of New Horizons, been recruited by Courtney Burke, New York state commissioner of the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, "to bring New Horizons to the state."

He will be missed. New York state's Office for People With Developmental Disabilities is in the midst of a transition, downsizing the institutional campus and transitioning the developmentally disabled into group homes: Obijiski will bring his humanity and humility - not to mention his experience - to this task. We wish him well.

To the "flash mob" that appeared in front of Family Court in the City of Poughkeepsie on Valentine's Day: Also know as V-Day by Eve Ensler's organization One Billion Rising, created to end violence against women and girls.

The flash mob was among thousands that took place in 205 countries - the Poughkeepsie event was organized by the Grace Smith House and Family Services of Poughkeepsie.

The disturbing statistics pertaining to violence toward women has spurred a global movement that reverberates locally: 2012 saw a spike in aggravated assaults in the City of Poughkeepsie, mostly due to an increase in reports of domestic abuse. Organizers estimated 100 people came out for the event, wearing black and red in support of the cause.

To the Beacon City School District and to Pete and Toshi Seeger. The school district honored the Seegers by naming the high school theater after them - the brass plaque was installed last week and is engraved with the new name, the Seeger Theatre. The Seegers have both been deeply involved with the Beacon community as a whole as well as the schools - and schoolchildren - for decades.

At the dedication ceremony, students from J.V. Forrestal Elementary School, the Beacon High School Band and the Beacon Players Drama Club performed some of Pete Seeger's own hits: "Where Have All the Flowers Gone," "If I Had a Hammer" and "Turn, Turn, Turn."

The theater is not new, but it didn't have a name, and the school board felt the dedication was a perfect fit. Beacon High School Band director Stephen Pietrowski said Pete Seeger is always available for the district students.

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Three cheers to promotions and V-Day

To Regis Obijiski, the outgoing director of New Horizons Resources, a disability agency based in the Hudson Valley that operates 25 group homes and an 80-acre farm.